Avaz Mutall - cinema artist, painter, was born in 1953 in Tashkent. Lives and works in Moscow.

"The most important thing for me is composition. Powerful composition is the foundation of a painting. The imaginative solution of the painting is important too. I often write down my thoughts before trying to find the exact composition, making little drawings with a pencil or ballpoint pen. Normally it takes hundreds of drawings before I find the right composition and decide on the size of the painting, the material I am going to use, and the tools I will need – a brush, palette knife, or finger. In the process of searching I also determine where the center of the composition should be. Typically, the composition has a single center, but sometimes it has two centers. In this case one center must defer to and complement the other.

While working with color, I try to make sure that no two colors produce the same sound, tone or volume. A painting is like a person. It can be gentle, wise, cheerful, gloomy, quiet or excited. That depends on the mood and the state of the soul of the artist. All the secrets of the artist's soul are transferred to the canvas. When I am in a bad mood, I do not take up the brush. When the mood is right, though, I work very quickly to catch the inspiration and fleeting impulses of feelings.

Non-objective painting requires great effort and thinking, because I'm trying to reveal the theme of physics and the cosmos. Every touch and every color is exactly in its place, has a philosophical meaning, and serves the overall goal of the painting. At first it was hard to find my own style. But I felt that it was necessary to escape from the box in which academic training had placed me and begin to experiment with a freer style of art. I went to a very large art school academy, and it was difficult to leave the traditional use of light and shading. Yet I knew I had to try to imagine the invisible and strove to make my paintings able to convey a sound and express music.

A painting is like an orchestra, and the artist is the conductor. With the help of rhythm and harmony, paintings can distract people from everyday life, and give them freedom, joy and energy!"